Humidifier



Aug. 4, 1931. J. w. MARTIN. JR

HUMIDI FIER Filed May 26, 1926 lNVE NTOR JimwJW- Marh'n I Jr- PatentedAug. 4, .1931

' uni Tao s'rATas PATENT oi-Pica My present invention is embodied in ahumldifier primarily intended for maintaining a desired amount ofmoisture in the'air of living rooms, oflices, factories, etc., and whiles peculiarly adapted for use in combination: with radiators of steam orhot water heating systems, it is welladapted for use wherever it.

' is desirable to moisten atmosphere; also where liquids other thanwater are employed as, for instance, disinfectants, perfumes, etc.

I My humidifier includes means for contmuously malntammg 1n moist or wetcondition, a relatively large area of fibrous surface, preferably, inthe form of a multi licit of travelling belts or endless bands 0 wicmaterial which may be mounted on cooperati-ng rollers, one of which islocated so that the wick belts are carried below the level of water orother liquid in a tank, while the other is above the level, preferablylocated so that the bands travel vertically. Preferably, there are twosets of such bands mounted on the same shaft-axes, but one set engagespulleys of smaller diameter than the other, so that there are twoup-travelling and two down-travelling rows of wick material presented tothe transverse draft which is to be humidified thereby. An importantfeature of m invention is continuously maintaining suc transverse draftby means of a fan of the propeller type that is relatively large andslow-moving.

' Hence, vibration, noise and violent drafts are avoided,while'continuous efiicient operation is assured.

' An'electric motor suitably mounted, pref- 1 erably within the casingof the apparatus,

drives a countershaft, through a worm gear whereby the countershaft hasrelatively slow speed, and the slow speed fan, is driven from thisshaft. This counters'haft also drives one or both of the wick supportingshafts through a second worm gear whereby a yet lower speed, as low asmay be desired, can be prede- 5 termined for the travel of the wicksupward ervoir.

In order to be of any real utility, apparatus of this type must beoperated so as to efiiciently evaporate surprisingly large amounts ofthe water, and I have discovered that as a from and downward into thewater in the resresult of the evaporation, the water in thereservoir'will become overloaded with natural mineral salts, dust andothernon-volatile matter, tosuch an extent as to clog and greatlyimpair. the. efiiciency of the evaporating 5 surfaceafiorded by the wickbands. 0 avoi this, and also to provide for frequent refillings that arenecessary, the reservoir is nip (1 with a float-controlled inlet cock,

w ere y the water is automaticall main- Q tained at the desired leveland, in com ination with such automatic .su ply, there is also anoverflow waste pipe, t e two being so designed that when the cockoperates it supphes a substantial overplus of water which 5; runs ofithrough the waste pipe and so keepsthe reservoir water as clean and pureas may be-desired.

The. apparatus is peculiarly adapted for location adjacent the end of aradiator, but substantially out of contact therewith. In this situation,the air is drawn into the fan by inflow which tends to be along radiallines of a hemisphere, the radius of which depends on the size of thefan. Hence, a large fan will be quite effective for drawing in a largepartpf the heated air, when the radiator is 0t; if the heat be turnedoff the radiator, the air in'theroom is just as accessible to the fan asit #iasbcfore. This is an entirel novel so arrangement, so far as I amaware. n prior devices itiiere the hot draft has been supplied through aregister from a hot .air furnace, closing the re ister results instopping the draft, thereby iscontinuing the humidi yin at operation andwhere motors have been usetf,

they have not been arranged in effective draft inducing relation to aradiator or other heater.

The above and other features of m invention-may be more fully understoodom the following descri tion, in connection with the accompanying"rawing, in which The figure is a partly schematic view, showing thehumidifier in vertical section, in operating relation to a radiator inelevation, a humidostat and operating circuits being schematicallyindicated.

In this drawing, the humidifier, A, is close to but spaced apart fromthe end of the radi- I ator indicated at B. If desired, a humido stat,0, controls flow of electrical current from one side of a line, a,through a lead, 6, 0, d and a return, 0, wh1ch furn1shes the power fordrivin the operating motor described below. n adjustable rheostat, B,may be added for manual control to determine the normal maximum speedfor-the m0- tor.

While the details of the humidifier, A, may be varied within widelimits", I perfer to assemble the parts in an exterior casing, which maybe of sheet metal com rising upright side members, 1, a top, 2, an arear wall, 3, having a relatively large openln 4, through which air maybe drawn by the an, 5, wh ch is preferably surrounded by converglnwalls, 6, 6, the exit portion of wh1ch, at is preferably ap roximatelythe same diameter as the fan, w ereby the draft propelled 1n thedirection of the arrows results in establishing suction over the inlet4, which s shown as of substantially larger diameter than the fan. Inthe bottom of the casing is formed a tank, 8, in which dischargesa suply cock, 9, connected by pipe, 10, wlth t e usual water supply system.Turning off operation of the cock to. maintain a desired level of waterin the reservoir, is conventionally indicated as being by means'of alever, 11, controlled by a float, 12. The level is further controlled bythe overflow pipe, 13, which extends through the bottom of the'reservoiras a waste pipe, 14, which maybe carried outdoors or connected to anysuitable drainage system.

In the reservoir 8, is rotatably supported a shaft, 15, carrying sets ofrelatively per part of the casing, also rotatably mounted, is a similarshaft, 15a, carrying a set of larger pulleys, 16a and a smaller set ofpulleys, 17a. Each pair of larger pulleys, 16, 16a, has fitted thereonabelt, 18, which is preferably a cylindrical endless band of wickmaterial, while each pair of the smaller pulleys, 17 17a, carries asimilar belt, 19. I thus provide across the front of the apparatus, fourrows of wicks in staggered relation, and the number of wicks in each rowwill de end on the number of pulleys, which may e as few or many as maybe desired.

The belts may be driven at the desiredlow speed and the fan at anydesired, higher speed, in any suitable way. Preferably, however, thefan, 5, is keyed to a shaft, 20, rotatably mounted in a bearing, 21,carried by a spider, 22, which may be secured to the wall, 6, in anydesired way as by spot welding or riveting. The forward end of shaft 20is driven through beveled gears, 23, the driving gear being mounted oncountershaft, 24, su ported in brackets 25, 26. This countershai t, 24,also carries a worm, 27, meshing witha worm gear, 28, which drives theshaft 15a,

ar e pulleys, 16, and smaller pulleys, 17. In t e up-.

8 will cause opening of the cock, 9, until the v rising water lifts thefloat and closes the valve, the aparatus being proportioned so that theoutlet of the overflow pipe, 13, will be below the level of the water soas to be drainin ofl substantial quantities thereof.

It will e obvious to those familiar with ap- "paratus of this kind, thatthere is a range of water level suflicient to permit this. Even incarefully designed apparatus, the valve affords suflicient resistance tooperation so that the water level mustfall considerably below normalbefore the float 12 will have suflicient 'excess weight to open thevalve, and it must also rise considerably above normal before. the floatwill have enough excess floatation to close the valve. Then, if thecapacity 'of overflow pipe 13 is suflicient smaller than the capacity ofthe su ply, said overflow pipe e t e may be substantial y submergedbefor float closes the valve and thereafter draining off of the water tothe level of the overflow will not be sufficient to cause operation ofthe float by gravity. The current then being turned onto drive motor 32the countershaft, 24, will be driven through 29, 30, at the right speedfor operating the fan, 5, through gears 23. By reason of the reducinggear, the fan will be driven at much lower speed'than in the ordinarycase, where the fan is mounted directly on the armature shaft of themotor. Consequently, the fan will be relatively noise less and thedraft, a breeze as gentle as may be desired. As the rate of evaporationof the water will depend in an important degree upon the speed of thefan, the gearing of the wick drive shaft, 15a, through thereducing worm,27, and worm gear, 28, is of advantage as making these speedsinterdependent. Moreover, the speed of the wicks may be as slow asdesired. This is an important feature because it is desirable to givethe wicks time to lose part of their wetness, so as to expose therelatively great evaporating area afforded by fibers and pores of thewicking, which are more or less sealed when the wicks are soaking wet. Iprefer to have-the wicks travel upward in the rows adjacent the fanreason of the fact that the excess water has been then removedsufiiciently to expose a maximum area of wet fiber, to the draft.

The arrangement shown has the advantage that above and below theconverging wall, 6, the casing not only affords housing for the movingparts and for the reservoir, but also affords eddy spaces in which theair circulates more slowly than in the draft, affording furtheropportunity for the upper and lower portions of the wick belts and alsofor the surface of the water in the reservoir, to moisten the air. Inthis connection, it will be understood that the straight, horizontalarrows are merely indicative of the main draft, no attempt having beenmade to show the spreading or eddying of this draft which necessarilyresults from injector action and vacuum tendency where the back of thecasing is closed in and the front is wide open, as in the present case.Also, no attempt is made to show the natural upward draft which is souniversally known as characterizing operation of all steam and hot waterradiators and it will be obvious that the laterally presented inlet tothe fan is merely in non-positive or inductive relation to such draft,taking only so much as the fan is able to suck in laterally therefrom.

I claim:

1. A humidifying apparatus adapted to be placed in inductive relation toa draft producing air heater and including a casing, a fan for movingair through the casing, a water reservoir in the lower portion of saidcasing, a plurality of separate belts of absorbent material arran ed toafford free paths for flow of air etween them and means for en portingthem for vertical travel 'upwar water in said reservoir and in the pathof said draft from the fan, said supporting means,

including cooperating rota supports for said belts, at least one .ofwhlch is positively rotated; and means for operating said fan 45 andsaid belts at widely different but interdependent speeds, including arotary electric motor, a shaft driven thereby through a reducing ear,gearing between the shaft and the fan esigned for lproper speed of the50 fan, and aworm on the s aft cooperating with the worm gear to drivesaid belts at correspondingly reduced speed.

2. A humidifying apparatus adapted to be placed in inductive relation toa draft 55 inducing air heater and including a casing a fan for movingair through the casing, said heater, a water reservoir in the lowerportion of said casing, a plurality of separate belts of absorbentmaterial and means for sup- 50 orting them for vertical travel upwardrom and downward into water in said reservoir, in staggered alternaterelation, including cooperating rotary sup orts for said belts, at leastone of which 1s positively ro- 65 tated; and means for operating saidfan and said belts at widely different but interdependent speeds.

3. Humidifying apparatus, including a water reservoir, float-controlled,intermittently operating means for over-supplying water to the reservoirwhen the level falls and an overflow drain pipe designed and operatingto cause said overflow to become deeply submerged before the float shutsoff the supply thereby causing substantial drainage of water through theoverflow when the supply operates, upwardly extendin belts of absorbentmaterial and means or continuous 1y rotating them at slow speed, and afan and means for operating it to create circulation of air impingingamong and around said belts.

4. An air heater arranged to create and facilitate an induced upwarddraft of heated air in a room to be heated, in combination with a fanhaving an air intake laterally applied in inductive relation to suck inpart of said draft, without preventing said upward draft, and means formaintaining water in the evaporative relation to the outlet draft ofsaid fan.

Signed at New York in the county of New York, and State of New York,this 25th day of May, A. D. 1926.

' JAMES W. MARTIN, JR.

from and downward into

